A Visit From Grandma and Grandpa

We were so excited that Grandma and Grandpa were able to come for a visit this past weekend.  We had a lot of fun shopping together, playing with Luke's trains and enjoying the warm weather.  Here are some pictures from some of our time with them.  Grandma and Grandpa--Luke can't wait to see you again soon!

(As you can see from the pictures above, Luke's sling doesn't serve its purpose very well.)

A UPS Driver brought a pleasant surprise today!!!!!

A UPS driver dropped off something quite unexpected at our doorstep today.....and we (especially Drew) are VERY happy about it!

Here is the box....what is it?

The "skin" that was included with it made it known to us what had arrived!

Even Luke was excited!

Are you still wondering what it is?

Drew is opening up the box within the box...

while Luke plays with the box.

Tada!   It is the exclusive Google Chrome OS Notebook and a thrilled Drew!!!!

Google began a pilot program late last year, which entailed offering FREE notebooks loaded with their new Chrome operating system!!!  Of course, this required applying and being selected out of millions in a lottery system.  

Drew first applied in December 2010 when the program first began.  And, even though we knew it would be a long shot to actually receive a notebook, we were sad that one did not arrive with our online Christmas purchases at our doorstep. 

In mid-January, Drew found a promo where if you installed a specific app in your browser, you received another entry in the lottery.  A few weeks later, the UPS man dropped of a free notebook at our doorstep.  We were amazed when we opened the notebook, that it started up almost instantly and is super quiet.  We haven't played with it yet, but expect to get a full review of the notebook later! 

Click here for some additional information about the pilot program from Google and to apply for the lottery.

Thank you Google!

Luke's One-week Follow-up Appointment

We just returned home from Luke's one-week follow-up appointment from his closed-reduction procedure.  An X-ray taken today shows that Luke's arm is healing nicely.  We are definitely pleased and praised the Lord when we saw the X-ray images this morning.  You can actually already see new bone forming around where the doctor broke both of the forearm bones mid-shaft.  The doctor would like to leave the same splint on and said to keep on doing whatever we are doing.   I responded, "we're hovering", as I hovered over Luke while he explored the exam room.  The doctor laughed.

We take more X-rays in a week, so we are going to continue to pray that Luke is careful and that we are able to prevent him from having any falls that would land him on that arm.   This sounds pretty easy, but Luke runs fast and has simple slips and falls pretty often just doing normal playtime activities.

Luke's new chair...and box.

Drew and I decided that Luke needed a chair his size. After all, he did hurt his arm trying to climb onto one of our chairs. So, I bought one online last week and it arrived in a large box, which has become one of Luke's favorite toys. Here are a couple of videos of Luke enjoying his new chair---well, chair AND box. (Please ignore the messy living room in the background).

As you can see from the video, I practically have to hover over Luke to ensure he does not fall onto his right arm, or try to use it to get up. So, if it seems I am helping him up, etc. a little too much, this was actually part of the doctor's orders. We all want his arm to heal straight. :-) Let's just say I have been getting plenty of exercise lately. We don't keep the box and chair out all of the time, but we do take them out for him to play with periodically. You saw how much he enjoys them--how can you not want to see the excitement on that little guy's face!

Poll: Real or Computer-Edited?

This post is a little different than most of my others.  I saw a youtube video a few days ago and showed it to Drew, hoping for him to think it was as cool as I did.  After I first viewed it I thought, "This guy is pretty talented, why is he not already in the NFL?"  Here is the video:

Well, after Drew saw the video, his reaction was a little different than mine. He responded with, "That can't be real--I'm sure that was edited by computer. You can't throw a football like that from the stands into a basketball rim and swish it." Now, I agree that the quarterback looks as skilled as he does primarily because of editing, but I think he really did make the shots. Perhaps it took 50 tries to make each shot, but I do think he has some talent. That brings me to the poll.

Is Johnny Mac for real?
	He's the real deal!
	It took him at least 50 shots to get one of the shots for camera, but he has talent.
	Some of the shots may be real, but a lot of them are create by a computer.
	These shots were made by a computer, not Johnny Mac!
pollcode.com free polls

What do you think?

Luke's procedure results

Well, we made it through Luke's procedure.  Luke did awesome!   I know our little guy had to be in so much pain though.   He needed pain meds all day long on Wednesday, but when he wasn't in pain, he was his normal energetic, happy self. 

The doc's report:
The doctor had to actually break both the radius and the ulna in order to straighten out the arm.  The procedure was called a "closed reduction of the radius and ulna."  This is most commonly done immediately after the fracture happens and less commonly 4.5 weeks after it happens.   It just makes me ache to think about the doctor physically having to break Luke's forearm bones with his bare hands.   After the procedure, while Luke was in recovery, the doctor spoke with us about the procedure in a consultation room.  He showed us the X-ray of the arm, and stated it was the best he could do to get it straight and that the angulation was within "acceptable range".  My initial thoughts were "by whose terms was this acceptable?"   I didn't feel this seemed acceptable, as the bones didn't even look completely lined up to me.  I don't like the term, "acceptable range," without full explanation of what that means.  Since the procedure, I have done some research about it.  Based on my findings, I wish he would have said, "The angulation was within acceptable range for his age in order for the bones to heal back in alignment and without functional loss of motion."  Residual angulation of < 10 degrees does not result in functional loss of motion at any age. Children < 9 years of age can remodel up to 15 degrees of angulation.  Therefore, with my recent education I am going to ask the doctor at our next appointment how many degrees of angulation resulted in the reduction.

To be honest, I was so concerned about seeing and holding my baby that I didn't ask many questions of the doctor following the procedure.   Apparently children react completely different that adults do following anesthesia.  When adults come out of anesthesia, they are sleepy.  However, babies scream and cry.  Poor things--it is scary for them because they don't understand where they are, or how they got to sleep.   So, we spent quite a bit of time consoling our little guy following his procedure.  Because of this reaction in children, and because the health care practitioners would need to take Luke back to his procedure without us present, the anesthesiologist recommended we give Luke a little Versed prior to the procedure.  It was so weird seeing Luke's behavior on that medication, but the nurse was able to take him back to his procedure without a peep.  Luke was so loopy.

Before the procedure--Luke was playing with his Thomas the Train.

Anyway, I am just so glad this part is behind us.  Thank you God for allowing this to go as smoothly as it did.  Now, we are praying for complete recovery, allowing Luke full range of motion of his arm.

Thank you everyone for your prayers--I know they helped as we felt a sense of peace the day of the procedure.  

Luke is now in a splint and sling.  I practically hover over him all day now in order to support him if he tries to push off with that arm, or to prevent him from slipping and falling onto that arm.  The doctor told us it is very important that he doesn't put any pressure on that arm.  These are easy instructions to follow as an adult--but a 16-month old--not so easy!  We will keep everyone updated--our next appointment is in a week.  We'll get some more X-rays to make sure it is healing properly.

Old cast is off--but this, unfortunately, is not over.

Yesterday was a very traumatic afternoon for us.  We were all very excited to finally get Luke's cast off.  We were thinking of all of the things we would be able to do once it was removed.    When we got back to the exam room, the medical assistant brought back this very scary looking cast cutting machine.  Luke had to wear ear protection because the machine made such loud noises.  It had a rotating blade on the end of what looked like a vacuum hose that the assistant use to slice the cast open.  Luke was so scared.

Then, once the cast was removed, mommy and daddy were scared.  His arm was bent.  They took X-rays, which showed the arm was healing bent.

Because of the angle this picture was taken, it is really hard to tell from this picture just how bent his radius is.  (The radius is the forearm bone that is farthest away from you when you have your arms by your side)  So, now we are going to have to take him to the surgery center at 6am tomorrow morning to have a procedure at 7am.  The procedure will involve the doctor "unbending" the arm while Luke is under anesthesia.  Luke will then be in a splint or cast for another 3-4 weeks.

Drew and I went through a process of many emotions yesterday.

1. Emotion 1--Sadness.  I was so sad for my little baby.   Why does someone so young have to go through all this?  Poor little guy.
2. Emotion 2-- Anger.  First, we were upset with the physician who cared for Luke.   Why didn't they set it properly when putting him in the cast?  I asked if they were going to take new X-rays at our first appointment there, and they said it wasn't necessary.   I asked about his arm looking bent when they put him in the cast, but the doctor said it would straighten up fine.  
3. Emotion 3-- Fear.  How would Luke do under anesthesia?  What is the doctor is unable to bend the arm back into place--will he then need a full surgery?   
4. Emotion 4--Guilt.  Once we got back home, I began re-hashing all of the events of the day the accident happened.   What if I carried Luke with me into the kitchen when I was putting his sippy cup together?  Then he wouldn't have climbed on that chair and fallen.

Finally, after a lot of prayer (in fact so much that I only slept a few hours), I again succumbed to the fact that none of this matters any longer, because what has happened has happened and God is in control.  Here is an encouraging song by Stephen Curtis Chapman that really says it all.

So, today Luke is his normal rambunctious self, and I am busy chasing after him.   He is only in a splint, so he has to be very careful.   I just put him down for an early morning nap and I am already exhausted!

 

Please pray for our little guy.